


12 AM || Harry Styles AU

by lisavslisa



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Booty Calls, Drunkenness, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, Male-Female Friendship, Resolved Sexual Tension, Romantic Friendship, Sexual Tension, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 20:36:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14316681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisavslisa/pseuds/lisavslisa
Summary: “It’s almost twelve,” Harry breathed quietly in Maya’s ear, despite the fact that all of their friends were mere feet away from them. Maya’s breathing hitched. It was never spoken out loud that 12 am was a thing between them. It was just something she’d noticed – like a coincidence. She looked at Harry questioningly, wondering if it was planned that way all along. Like it was his master plan for all these years. 12 am. It was their time.“You…” She breathed, unable to finish the sentence.“I covet this time of night,” he whispered, leaving a kiss on her forehead before walking away, silently begging her to follow him.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
>    
>  _Don’t wanna sleep cause we’re dreaming out loud._   
>  _Trying to behave but you know we never learned how._   
>  _Won’t you stay til the AM?_   
> 

**{September 2015}**

_I’m right outside your flat._

Maya wasn’t surprised when she read the text from Harry. She also wasn’t surprised at the time he sent it – 12 am sharp. They’d spent the last year and a half, off and on, getting together at that time of night. Not much was said between them during that time, but it didn’t matter. Not to either of them. They made a silent agreement a long time ago. 12 am was their time and nothing stood in the way of that. Not feelings, or significant others, or prior obligations. It didn’t matter.

A few seconds later she heard the buzz on her flat’s intercom. She casually walked to the door and she let him up by pressing a button on the intercom. Before she unlocked her flat door, she took a peek in the mirror to make sure she looked okay, which subconsciously she already knew she did. She had time to prepare. One thing she could truly appreciate about Harry was that he was a creature of habit – 12 am on the dot like always. She might’ve just been a booty call, but she knew exactly _when_ he’d show _if_ he did. Sure it got annoying sometimes, always having to be primped and ready for him in the middle of the night, but it was a small price to pay for their nights together.

“Harry,” she said casually as he walked in the door, closing it silently behind him.

“Maya,” he breathed her name in a low sensual tone.

Her body tingled just by the sound of his voice. She’d never been able to decipher her feelings for him over the years, but one thing she could always count on was the wanton sexual attraction she felt for him. She stood leaning against the back of her couch as she watched him unlace his boots and slip them off before he crossed the room toward her. He was wearing a jet black t-shirt and just as dark skinny jeans. His long unruly hair fell perfectly as his shoulders and his green eyes were brimming with lust as he gripped her waist in his hands.

“You look radiant,” he breathed, looking down into her eyes.

“Your hair gets longer every time I see you,” Maya commented, reaching up to gently run her fingers through the strands. In two years Harry’s hair went from an organized mess atop his head to a long mane of wavy hair falling at his shoulders.

“ _Mm_ ,” he hummed as his hand slid up into her shirt.

Moments later his lips were on hers. So much for small talk, she thought. Maya kissed him back, matching his rhythm immediately. Harry was a fantastic kisser and he knew it. She’d never bore even if that’s all they did with each other. But being with Harry consisted of so much more.

Both of Harry’s hands disappeared under her shirt, caressing the soft skin on her sides. Her flesh rippled with goose bumps as he touched her, but it didn’t deter the fierceness in her kiss. She had no idea what it was about him that made her so feral when they were together. But every time she saw him, her mind swirled and her entire body lit up from the inside out. It was unexplainable and it couldn’t be helped.

“ _Mm_ ,” she hummed into his mouth as their tongues tangled together.

Harry’s hands worked her shirt up and without thinking, her arms raised to the ceiling and he was pulling it off her – their lips only breaking for a moment. Maya’s fingers slipped into the back of Harry’s soft hair, tugging lightly on the strands. When Harry started growing out his hair, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but in the end, she ended up loving it. She loved how much older it made him look and she couldn’t lie, she loved when he put it up into a ponytail. There was something intriguingly sexy about it.

Without wasting another moment, Harry tugged down Maya’s trousers and she let them fall to the floor before casually stepping out of them. When she gripped onto the bottom hem of his t-shirt, her lips finally fell away from his and their lust-filled eyes met one another’s. His green eyes were dark and passionate, looking at her so fiercely. It sent a shiver up her spine. Before Maya could even finish her original thought of ridding him of his shirt, Harry already gripped it by the back of the collar and pulled it off his body, revealing all of his vast tattoos – some remarkable and others questionable. Either way, they were nothing short of a turn-on to Maya.

A sneaky smile spread across Harry’s lips and Maya couldn’t help but smile back bashfully. She knew immediately that his smile was meant to goad her, to tell her he noticed how he was affecting her. Maya bit at her lip and rolled her eyes before she focused on unbuttoning his painted-on skinny jeans. Harry let out a small chuckle, which made Maya blush further, but she never stopped smiling. She liked these little moments with him. She cherished them.

As soon as she had his trousers open, she noticed immediately that he wasn’t wearing any underwear, which surprised her.

“ _Oh_ ,” she said, the word falling out of her mouth before she could stop it.

“Surprise,” Harry said in his low sexually charged voice.

Maya’s eyes met up with his again and she let out a small giggle as Harry bounced his eyebrows at her. Seconds later, he leaned in to kiss her again. His hands came down to grip the back of her legs before lifting her up onto the back of the couch. Maya giggled against his lips as she tried to find her balance, her arms gripping tightly around the back of his neck. She felt his fingers gather at the side of her panties before he quickly pulled them down, dropping them at her ankles. All she had to do was wiggle her feet and they disappeared onto the floor with the rest of their discarded clothing.

“Maya…” Harry breathed huskily against her mouth.

“Yes…” she answered breathlessly, trying to look into his eyes, but their faces were so close that all she saw was a blur of his features.

He didn’t finish what he was going to say. Or maybe he hadn’t planned on saying anything at all. She didn’t really have time to think about it, because a split second later, he pushed inside of her and a pleasurable moan gravitated from her throat to her lips. Her mind spiraled as her grip around his shoulders tightened. She felt his fingertips digging into the fleshy part of her hips as he paused for a moment once he was completely inside of her. Her breathing shuddered as she felt him pull back slowly and then push back in.

“Harry,” she whimpered quietly.

There wasn’t another moment wasted, Harry began a steady rhythm inside of her, their bodies entwined as Maya balanced atop the couch. All that could be heard was their heavy breathing and the sounds their bodies made in the act. It was agonizing pleasure that Maya never wanted to end. He felt so good and she took him greedily. Nights like this, he was hers and hers alone. She didn’t want to think about the fact that there could be other girls. She didn’t want to think about what he’d be doing when he left her that night. She only wanted to relish in his presence and the pleasure he provided her with. Her entire body purred for him. From head to toe, she felt him in every extremity – every inch of her felt alive because of him.

Never in a million years did she think her life would play out this way. She had a perfect little plan for her life. She’d finish Uni and she’d find a suitor to marry and have children with. She never thought she’d be an everlasting booty call to a man she called a friend in the daylight hours. But the moment she met Harry, she knew she’d do anything to have him. He was an enigma she was drawn to from the start.

 

**{New Year’s Eve 2013}**

Maya Mitchell met the illustrious Harry Styles at a New Year’s party at his best friend Louis’ flat on the last night of 2013. Louis’ girlfriend Eleanor was a Uni friend of Maya’s best friend, Camille. And on a whim with no other plans on the horizon, Maya and Camille ended up at the small two story flat in the south end of London, dressed to the nine’s to celebrate a brand new year.

They got on well with just about everyone they encountered at the party, but Maya saw no real candidates for a midnight kiss. It wasn’t until eleven thirty that Maya laid eyes on a tall handsome well-dressed curly-haired boy who just arrived at the party, announcing his entrance with a loud whoop.

“That’s Harry Styles,” Camille whispered in Maya’s ear.

“Oh,” Maya said, never breaking her eyes away from the enigma that was Harry.

She watched as several people – males and females – greeted Harry with wide smiles and bro-hugs, plying him with alcohol right off the bat. He did have a lot to make up for after all, since most of the guests at the party were already pretty wasted by that time.

Maya watched as girl after girl – all seemingly prettier than the next – started approaching Harry. She bit her lip, watching and hoping, for some reason, that one of them wasn’t his girlfriend. She knew she might never stand a chance with a boy like that, but somehow in the back of her mind, she knew it would make her feel a little bit better for him to be single. She watched him smile and laugh with the girls, but there was no touching, there was no indication that he was even remotely involved with any of them. He just seemed nice. Plain and simple. He seemed like a really nice person.

“You’re staring,” Camille said, nudging Maya’s shoulder.

“What? No, I’m not,” Maya replied with a scoff. She wasn’t, was she?

“He’s single, you know,” she said in an all too sing-song-y voice.

“Really?” Maya asked, her whole body perking up from the good news.

“Ha! I knew you were staring,” Camille laughed.

“Shut it,” Maya grumbled as her eyes fell back on the green-eyed beauty.

“Go talk to him,” Camille urged, nudging Maya again.

“Yeah, right,” Maya scoffed, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

Maya wasn’t ugly, but in her opinion she wasn’t the most beautiful thing either. She had dark hair and blue eyes. And well, she was scrawny, but not in the way that made a person beautiful. In her instance, it made her look like someone who hadn’t quite fully developed. She was an ugly duckling waiting for her moment to become a swan.

She didn’t hold a candle to _most_ of the girls at the party – especially the ones that seemed to be holding Harry’s attention. The black dress she was wearing was short, but modest and her dark hair was falling at her shoulders in curly waves, courtesy of Camille. Her makeup wasn’t anything impressive, but it was enough to make her feel a bit better about herself for the time being. She knew she wasn’t anything extraordinary, but she had enough self-worth to get her by. And she might just lose it all if she got a blow-off by the curly-haired creature in painted-on black skinny jeans. She didn’t want or need that.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” Camille edge her.

“Know what?” Maya asked, giving her a pointed look.

“If he’s interested,” Camille replied. Maya snorted out a small laugh, finding humor in Camille’s words.

“He’s really nice. I’ve met him on a few occasions,” Camille informed her.

“Brilliant,” Maya said a bit sarcastically.

“You’re a catch, Maya,” Camille said, knocking her shoulder into Maya’s.

“Has my mother paid you to say that?” Maya joked.

“Be real, Maya. It’s not like you’re proposing marriage. Just go talk to him. Who better to kiss at midnight, yeah?” Camille smiled mischievously at her. Maya bit at her bottom lip as she found herself looking at Harry again.

“I’m going to grab another drink. Would you like one?” Camille asked standing up.

“Please,” Maya replied, knowing if she even had a chance at convincing herself to talk to Harry she was going to need a little more liquid courage.

“I’ll be right back,” Camille told her.

“I’m going to go to the loo. I’ll find you,” Maya informed her as she stood up too.

The two friends went their separate ways, Camille heading toward the kitchen and Maya to the bathroom.

Several minutes later, after waiting in an unimaginably long queue for the toilet, Maya made her way back toward the living room where most of the people at the party were. Secretly she noted that Harry was no longer in sight and it made her cringe a little at how desperate she seemed. On her way to find Camille, Maya stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Camille standing by the keg in the kitchen talking animatedly with none other than Harry Styles. Her insides tightened – perhaps with jealousy, maybe anxiety. She couldn’t be sure. All she knew was she didn’t have the courage to take another step toward them. She slid up against the adjacent wall, where she had a view of the two of them, just far enough away from them where she was sure they couldn’t see her. She couldn’t hear their words, but she could see Camille smiling and touching Harry’s arm. Jealousy shot through her. She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the wall. She wanted nothing more than to just leave the party, feeling like the definition of a wallflower – or better yet a _loser_.

Maya took a deep breath before pushing herself away from the wall. Where was she going to go? Camille was the only person she truly knew at the party and she was, well, occupied.

“Maya!” Camille called out to her and Maya froze in her tracks. _Shit_. She could pretend she didn’t hear her and keep going. But she already stopped. She’d look like a lunatic if she kept going.

She bit her lip and slowly turned to find her best friend waving her over. Her blood tingled in her veins as she noticed Harry watching her, waiting. She made her way over to the pair of them, sending Camille a pointed look.

“Harry, this is the girl I was telling you about. Maya, this is Harry,” Camille said, introducing the two of them.

“Maya,” Harry said, his voice much, _much_ deeper than she imagined.

“Hi,” Maya squeaked, sounding like a complete fool as Harry stuck out his hand to shake hers.

She obliged immediately as her cheeks heated up. As soon as their skin touched she felt the electricity between them. Or maybe it was just her imagination? A freak occurrence? Didn’t that stuff only happen in films?

“Nice to meet you, Maya,” Harry said, smiling slyly at her.

“You as well,” Maya replied, taking back her hand.

Maya stood there feeling so out of place as Harry and Camille finished their conversation. She had nothing to add because she wasn’t really following what they were talking about. All she could do was steal glances at the extraordinary boy in front of her.

“Styles, you git – why are you hiding away in here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Louis, the party’s host, shouted at his best friend.

“Oi! I’m not hiding anywhere, Tommo,” Harry replied rather loudly.

“You’re supposed to be my wingman,” Louis said, throwing his arm around his friend.

“I think you’ve got that backwards, mate,” Harry said, looking at him oddly. Louis was the one with a girlfriend after all.

“I can be your wingman. Camille, you look _radiant_ tonight,” Louis said, eyeing her. Maya felt uncomfortable – like perhaps she was invisible.

“Oh, _bless_ you, Tommo,” Camille said quite theatrically.

“Am I doing a proper job of wingman yet?” Louis asked Harry jokingly.

“I may need to teach you the definition of ‘wingman’ later,” Harry smirked at his best mate.

“Louis, this is my best friend in the whole world, Maya,” Camille said, introducing her to the host.

“Oi! Nice to me you, love,” Louis said rather animatedly as it looked like he’d just realized there was another person in their presence.

“You as well,” Maya said once again.

“I was just telling Harry how Maya is _single_ ,” Camille said with quite thick implication in her tone.

“What?” Maya asked, gaping at her best friend. Camille giggled and bounced her eyebrows at her.

“ _Ohh_ , I see. I see,” Louis said, catching on. Harry let out a laugh, clapping his hand on Louis’ shoulder.

“Louis, someone let the cat out of your bedroom!” Eleanor shouted from the kitchen doorway. The attention of the foursome was immediately on Eleanor.

“Bloody hell,” Louis grumbled, heading toward his girlfriend.

“I’m going to go help him find the beast, but we’ll talk again, yeah?” Harry said to the girls.

“Of course,” Camille said and the two of them watched him walk off.

“Well?” Camille asked Maya, giving her a proud look.

“He couldn’t get away from me fast enough,” Maya pointed out. Camille let out a scoff as her smile dropped immediately.

“What?” Maya asked.

“You’re such a killjoy,” Camille told her.

“Another trait of my shining personality,” Maya said sarcastically.

“Yeah, we need to work on that. Here. I got you another drink,” Camille said, handing her another cup. Maya sniffed it and gave her friend a questioning look.

“Harry made it,” Camille smiled.

“Brilliant,” Maya said colorlessly and took a sip. She coughed immediately from the strong concoction.

“Bloody hell. What did he put in here? Strychnine?” Maya asked as the two girls made their way out of the kitchen.

“It’s a bit strong, innit?” Camille smiled at her.

“Strong is an understatement,” Maya mumbled.

“Oh my god,” Camille gasped, stopping in her tracks.

“What?” Maya asked, trying to find what Camille was looking at.

“Jeremy Pevensy,” Camille said, staring at the cute boy in the distance.

Camille had a thing for Jeremy – and he had a thing for her – for quite some time. Though neither of them ever made a move to be anything more than occasional snogging partners. Maya knew as soon as she heard Camille say his name that she would lose her best friend for the time being – it was almost midnight on New Year’s Eve after all. She would spend the New Year alone with no one to kiss, she was sure of it.

“You don’t mind if I go say ‘hello’, do you?” Camille asked her.

“Go,” Maya told her.

“Are you sure?” Camille asked.

“I’m sure. Go,” Maya said, giving her a nudge.

“You’re the best!” Camille said excitedly, giving Maya a quick kiss on the cheek before making her way over to Jeremy. Maya was alone, standing in a crowded room. Best New Year’s ever, right?

Maya stood against the same wall she did before, watching people talking and laughing and having a much better time than she was. It was a little less than ten minutes before the New Year and she felt like a fool. She stood sipping on the poison in her glass hoping she didn’t look like the biggest idiot in the room.

“Do you like your drink?” She heard a familiar deep voice and quickly turned to see Harry standing next to her. She smiled immediately, feeling a blush come on.

“It’s… it’s interesting,” Maya told him.

“Interesting, huh? I put a lot of hard work into making that drink especially for you,” he told her.

“You didn’t even know who I was when you made it,” Maya pointed out. Harry smiled slyly at her.

“You got me,” he said with a light laugh.

Maya took another sip of the strong drink and tried her best to not make a disgusted face as it hit her taste buds. She did have to admit that it was doing its job. She felt a bit like she was floating. Or maybe that was because she was in Harry’s presence?

“So, Maya, who are you?” Harry asked, causing Maya to look at him oddly. Who asked something like that?

“Who am I? Who are you?” She countered, giving him a sideways smile.

“I’m Harry. I think we’ve established that,” he smirked.

“Right,” she said quietly, taking another sip of the drink.

“Where are you from? Do you go to school? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are your parents nice?” Harry said, asking question after question, making her head spin. Maya let out a boisterous laugh. Was he serious?

“What?” He smiled at her.

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” She asked, eyeing him with a questioning look.

“I figured I’d quite like to get to know the girl I’m going to kiss at midnight,” Harry said, letting his smile fade from his lips to show he was serious.

Maya’s heart sped up immediately as she was sure the color drained from her face along with her smile. What did he just say? She could do nothing but stare at him.

“Well?” He said finally.

“Uh…” She stammered but nothing came out.

“Three minutes, Maya,” Harry said, looking up at the clock.

“I, uh… I go to school…” She managed to say, answering one of his many questions, silently implying that she wanted him to kiss her at midnight.

“Where did you grow up?” He asked.

“Um… I was born in Manchester, but moved to London when I was five,” she answered, looking down at her half empty cup.

“I’m from Cheshire, and recently moved to London. Do you have siblings?” He went on.

“N-no,” she stammered.

“Hmm. An only child?” He asked and she nodded.

“I have an older sister named Gemma. She’s literally my best friend and most definitely smarter than me by way more than I’d like to admit,” Harry smiled fondly.

“I’ve always wanted a sister,” Maya told him.

“Maybe you can meet mine someday,” Harry smiled at her.

_Whoa, whoa, whoa_. Was he already talking about meeting his family? What was this? What did Camille tell him about her?

“Are you close with your Mum and Dad?” He asked.

“Yes. Are you?” She countered.

“Most definitely,” Harry smiled at her. She felt a little more comfortable with him after their Q&A and she wondered if that was his master plan.

“Bonus question: Do you have any hidden talents?” Harry smirked wildly at her. Maya looked at him quizzically.

“Humor me,” he said with a smile. Maya bit her lip, thinking hard of some way to answer his last question.

“Um… I… I can touch my tongue to my nose…” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Now this I’ve got to see,” Harry said, turning to fully look at her. Maya smiled and blushed even more, if that were possible.

“Let’s have it,” Harry said, urging her to do it.

Maya took a deep breath, looking at him straight in the eye before jutting out her tongue and touching it to the tip of her nose.

“Wait, wait! I need to see that a bit closer. Do it again,” Harry told her.

“I did it, I swear. The tip of my nose it wet,” she said as she placed a finger on her nose.

“Again, please,” he said moving in closer to watch.

“Fine,” she said and did it again.

“I think I’ve made a proper choice,” Harry said, smiling widely. Maya looked at him questioningly before she was startled from her thoughts by Louis.

“Less than a minute!” Louis shout to the crowd, causing their attention to snap away from each other.

Maya’s heart sped up once again, remembering what Harry said about kissing her at midnight. She still wasn’t sure if he was serious, but it became obvious to her that he just might do it after what he said a moment before.

“Do you have any hidden talents of your own?” Maya countered and watched as a sly smile turned up his lips.

“I’m a fantastic snog,” Harry said right before the crowd started counting down.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6,” they chanted.

Maya’s insides were jelly. This was the best possible outcome of the night, right? She’d been utterly infatuated with him since she laid eyes on him nearly a half hour before. Oh, how quickly the night changes.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” The crowd continued.

Maya’s nerves were shot. It was now or never. Harry was already leaning in and he smelt so good.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The crowd shouted.

“Happy New Year, Maya,” Harry whispered as his hand gripped gently on the back of her neck.

His lips were soft and warm and everything Maya hoped they would be. She felt the fire ignite inside of her as they kissed, their tongues tangling together rhythmically. He hadn’t been lying – snogging was definitely a talent of his.

When they finally broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers, holding her there gently, his hand still on the back of her neck. Their breathing was heightened and her body tingled even more so than before. She silently questioned if maybe his true hidden talent had something to do with him being a wizard or something. She’d never felt so alive after kissing someone before.

“You weren’t lying,” she breathed lowly, causing Harry to laugh out loud.

 

\-----------

**Hello. Review, please? I would really appreciate it! This story is only a five part fic, FYI. Enjoy!**


	2. Part Two

**{October 2015}**

Maya lay breathless with Harry’s chest pressed to hers as they lay in her bed. His face rested in the nape of her neck and she could hear every ragged breath he took, causing goosebumps to ravage her skin. She wasn’t sure why she was so hyperaware of him. Maybe because he’d just given her the fucking of her life. Or maybe it was something else.

She looked over at the clock. It was nearing one in the morning and she knew he was about to leave, walking out of her life again. She knew she’d probably see him soon in the daylight hours – they shared the same group of friends. But nothing compared to their secret rendezvouses. Maybe it was because she had Harry all to herself. She didn’t have to share him with the rest of them. He was hers and nobody else’s and maybe she liked that a little too much.

Harry rolled off of her and then out of the bed completely. She didn’t want him to go, but knew he would anyway. Maya pulled her silk robe over her bare shoulders and sat down at the end of her bed, watching as Harry dressed himself. She watched every single muscle in his back ripple as he reached down and stepped into his jeans. She admired every single tattoo in her sight, every single etching with its very own story. She loved the way his hair was pulled up into a perfectly done bun at the back of his head. He was absolutely beautiful.

“Are you sure you have to go? I’m thinking maybe we could go again,” she suggested as she stood up, sliding her fingers across his bare stomach before he could button his shirt up.

“ _Mm_ , I’d love to, but I’ve got an early morning,” Harry told her.

She tried not to let out the little whine she was holding back, but it fell from her lips anyway, giving away the disappointment she felt.

“Next time,” he said, leaning down to kiss her as he began to button his shirt. Maya held back a sigh and instead nodded her head in response.

“Are you going to Zayn’s Halloween thing?” Harry asked as he finished buttoning his shirt, covering up every inch of ink from her view.

“You mean the party?” She asked, quirking her eyebrow at him.

“Thing. Party. What’s the difference? We all do the same old stupid shit,” Harry smirked at her.

“Yeah. I was thinking about going,” she said casually as she followed him out of her bedroom.

“You better be there. You know how upset I get when you don’t show up for stuff,” he told her as he stepped into his shoes. Yes, she knew all too well how upset he got. Her not showing up to a party was literally the reason they began sleeping together.

Harry slipped his jacket over his shoulder and leaned in to kiss her again.

“Wear something sexy,” he breathed against her lips and pulled away with a sly smirk.

“Mm-hmm,” she breathed, trying to fight off the smile that tugged at her mouth.

“G’night, My,” Harry said finally as he opened her front door.

“Night, Harry,” she said quietly, watching him disappear out of her life again.

She locked the door behind him and walked back to her bedroom that smelt of sex and Harry. Slipping off her robe, she crawled underneath the still warm sheets and thought about the first time they were together.

 

 

**{June 2014}**

Maya turned nineteen in June and decided once and for all to move out of her parent’s house. Unfortunately for her, it proved to be a feat packing up her bedroom that she spent most of her life in. She even sacrificed going to a party just so she could pack – which didn’t go over so well with her group of friends. She got text after text from them wondering where she was and why she decided not to hang out. But to her, the most important text she got was from Harry.

_Where are you? Drinking isn’t as fun without you here to make me laugh._

Maya re-read the message a hundred times, contemplating how she should respond. In the end she didn’t, deciding it was best if she just left it alone. It was a slow form of torture being in love with Harry from afar.

Maya was packing up her shelf of books when she heard a tap on her window. It was after eleven at night and she wondered who or what the hell it could be outside her window. When she heard another tap and then a rapid succession of taps, she knew it was a _someone_ rather than a _something_. She crossed her bedroom quickly and pulled back her curtains. Standing outside her window with a smile plastered on his face was none other than Harry Styles. She quickly opened her window to let him in.

“Harry?” She questioned quickly.

“Hi, My,” Harry said with his big toothy grin.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” Maya whispered, watching as he, less than gracefully, crawled through her window. She quickly hushed him, realizing that all the commotion he was making could easily wake up her sleeping parents.

“You weren’t at Liam’s,” he pointed out a little too loudly.

“ _Shh_ , Harry. You’re going to wake up my mum and dad,” Maya shushed him quickly.

“Oh, sorry,” he whispered, giving her an apologetic look as he walked deeper into her room, avoiding all the piled up boxes she was packing.

Harry walked over to her bed and picked up her cell phone curiously. She gave the back of his head an odd look, wondering what he was doing.

“I text you. Didn’t you get my text?” He asked, looking at her phone like it was the most complicated thing he’d ever seen.

“Yes, I got it,” she said, snatching the device out of his hand.

“And you didn’t reply!?” He scoffed, looking appalled.

“Sorry,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I think you need to make it up to me,” he told her, giving her a smug look.

“Oh, really?” She asked, eyeing him skeptically.

“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Have you never ignored a text before?” She countered.

“Ignored!? What am I to you? Chopped liver?” He asked, exaggerating the words in a loud whisper. It was only then that she realized how drunk he was.

“Harry, be real,” she laughed.

“Fine, fine. Okay, so how should you make it up to me?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know. What do you want?” She asked, looking at him oddly.

“ _Hmm_ ,” he hummed, tapping his index finger against his chin, really giving it a good thought.

“Did you really come over here for this? You could have called,” she said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“I wanted to see you,” he said, looking quite serious. Maya’s heart sped up instantaneously.

“Why?” She asked, her mouth going dry.

“Why not?” He replied. Maya stared at him, her mouth dropped open slightly. She probably looked like an idiot, but she couldn’t even think straight enough to care.

“You’re drunk,” she pointed out, changing the subject because their conversation made her uncomfortable.

“A little,” he said, gesturing with his index and thumb held minutely apart.

“How’d you even get here?” She asked, looking toward the window.

“A cab,” he said with a shrug.

“You took a cab here?” She asked incredulously.

“What? I couldn’t drive. I’m _drunk_ , Maya,” he laughed lightly.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

Her head was spinning. He took a cab all the way across town to her house just because she didn’t text him back. He was either crazy or stupid. She wasn’t sure which yet.

“Are you going to call another cab to get back or what?” She asked.

“I’ll figure it out,” he told her, his eyes staring into hers.

“Harry,” she whispered, wondering what the hell she was going to do with a half-drunk Harry Styles in her childhood bedroom.

“So this is your room, huh?” Harry asked, looking around.

“Yeah. How did you even know which window to tap on?” She questioned.

“Um, the one time I was here, I remember you walking into this room to get your bag before we left,” he told her. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t allow her to let the fact that he remembered a simple detail from a day months ago slip her mind.

“Wow,” she said quietly.

“And it was the only room with a light on. I took my chances,” he smiled at her. She let out a laugh in response.

“I think you’re wrong, Styles…” she said, watching as his eyebrows furrowed in question.

“You’re the one who makes me laugh,” she told him, finally giving a reply to his text, causing a wide smile to form on his lips.

“It’s a mutual thing we’ve got going on,” he added.

The pair of them stared at each other for a few moments, the room going silent. Maya could feel the sexual tension between them – which may have been only one-sided, but it was there.

“So…” Maya said, letting the word trail off.

“So…” Harry replied immediately as they continued to stare at each other.

“What do you want to do?” She asked, feeling more than a little awkward that he was in her room, standing so close to her bed.

“I have a few thoughts…” He offered, but didn’t elaborate.

Yes, definite sexual tension felt by both parties.

Maya hadn’t even noticed that Harry moved closer to her. She was so caught up in her own head thinking about what his ‘few thoughts’ could possibly be that she hadn’t noticed him advancing toward her.

“Your eyes are so blue,” Harry breathed. Maya’s stomach turned with anticipation. For what, she was not quite sure.

“Mm-hmm,” she said, nodding her head lightly, unsure of how to respond to something like that.

“Do you remember the night we met?” He whispered as he stood in front of her, looking at her with evaluative eyes.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly, anticipating so much in those moments. How could she ever forget that night?

“Remember my hidden talent?” He smirked at her.

Of course she remembered his hidden talent. How could she forget it? Memories of that night played on a loop in her head when she tried to sleep at night. Harry kissed her. She was a perfect stranger and he kissed her. Maya always wondered why he chose her. Weren’t there girls at that party who would have sold their souls to be his kiss at midnight? Maya was sure of it. Yet, he chose her over all of them.

“Your not-so surprising talent?” She smirked back at him, her eyes dropping down to his lips involuntarily.

His smile widened as both his hands came up to cup her face. Was her life just a series of off-beat extraordinary moments? Was this really happening again? Was he really going to kiss her?

“It’s almost midnight,” he purred. And all she could do was let out a choked back moan in response. Harry’s lips turned up into a pleased smile.

“Promise me you’ll never skip out on a party again. _Especially_ if I’m there,” Harry whispered against her lips.

“I promise,” Maya breathed the words without even thinking, like she was in Harry’s magical spell again.

“Good,” Harry whispered. When he smiled his lips lightly brushed hers and sent a shockwave through her system. Maya’s stomach twisted with anticipation.

She realized months ago that nothing more would happen between her and Harry after their New Year’s kiss, but now here he was holding her so closely, implying that he wanted to kiss her again. She was in for it. She was certain of it.

Harry’s lips finally found hers and pressed them together, moving antagonizingly slow, until he opened his mouth to hers. She went along with it, knowing she didn’t want to stop him or slow him down. Harry’s tongue licked into Maya’s, exploring the slope of hers and she was lost in him.

She could feel him inching her back toward her bed the more they stood there kissing, causing her stomach to turn – in a very good way. Harry’s body laying atop hers was something she didn’t know she’d always wanted until it happened.

Her heart was hammering against her rib cage. She wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t in a dream. For all she knew, she could have fallen asleep alone in her bedroom and all of this was in her subconscious. But she wasn’t even sure if her subconscious wanted something like this to happen – to give herself to Harry so willingly. She did quite fancy him, but she wasn’t sure if she were ready to do something like this with him. But he smelt so good and his body felt absolutely wonderful atop hers; his hips cradled perfectly between her legs.

The fact that her parents could walk in on them at any minute was right there in the back of her mind, but to her it only made it more adventurous.

Harry’s hands pushed up her shirt as he continued to kiss her and her skin filled with goosebumps every single time his flesh met with hers. She felt like she might catch on fire and be consumed by Harry’s heat.

Harry’s fingertips coaxed her shirt off, leaving her in an over-worn grey bra she wished she wasn’t wearing at a time like this. She had a whole drawer full of matching bras and panties for just such occasion, but no, this wasn’t supposed to happen tonight. She was supposed to spend the evening alone, packing up her childhood bedroom. _Oh, God_. She didn’t even know what panties she was wearing. She made a habit of recycling out her underwear every few months or so, buying new ones and such, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that. She’d been so busy. She just hoped she wasn’t wearing an old ratty pair.

While all of this was happening in her mind, Harry’s kisses traveled down her jawline, down her neck, across her clavicle, bypassing her breast altogether, working his way down the long expanse of her stomach. Her fingertips gripped loosely into the wild curls atop his head. As Harry’s tongue swirled around her navel, his fingers gathered the sides of her sweatpants in them, tugging them down.

Maya’s heart hammered in her chest. Was this really happening? Her mind couldn’t even comprehend it. Harry Styles was in her bed with her, worshiping her body. It was almost too much. It made her head spin.

As Harry pulled off her sweatpants, Maya looked down to see she had a blue pair of silky panties on and breathed a sigh of relief. It was a newer pair, which she was grateful for, even though she wished she were wearing one of her matching lacy numbers.

“ _Mm_ ,” she heard Harry moan and looked down her body to see him taking a good look at her half-naked frame. It almost made her feel self-conscious. _Almost_. She could see the lust swirling in his eyes and she knew he liked what he saw.

His lips came back down against her flesh, kissing her hip before leaving a trail of kisses across to the other hip. His kisses climbed her frame gradually, causing her whole body to shake with tremors. She was certain she might have dreamt this once or twice, but it was never this good.

Harry’s lips found hers again, kissing her deeply, leaving her breathless. Her whole head spun from lack of oxygen. But in a split second he pulled up and pulled away. As Maya’s vision came back into focus, she realized he was only pulling off his t-shirt, revealing more of his skin than she’d ever seen. She knew he had tattoos – she’d seen them poking out from under the shirts he wore, but she never had a bird’s eye view of them. Without even thinking, Maya reached up and slid her fingertips across the black ink peppering his chest and left arm.

“You have a lot…” Maya said wondrously.

“I know,” Harry said, his voice sounding husky as he leaned in to kiss her again.

Maya’s mind was in deep thought about all of his tattoos and what they meant. How did he come to the conclusion to get all of them? Did they hold deep meaning or were they just spur-of-the-moment? Just something he did to document the life he was leading?

As her mind was on auto-pilot, she didn’t even realize that Harry nearly undressed completely. When she slid her hand down his back, down his bum, she noticed he was no longer wearing his trousers. When did that happen? She really needed to stop letting her mind run off. She wanted to remember everything – every moment she was there with Harry, because who knows if it was ever going to happen again. This might be her only shot with him.

When Harry pressed against her, a spark of pleasure shot through her and she let out a deep moan and realized she did it again. Her mind was going off on these tangents and she was missing everything.

“Is this okay?” Harry breathed against her mouth.

“Y-yes. Yes,” she stammered, swallowing hard as she leaned up and kissed him again.

The rest of their undergarments were removed in a haze of too many endorphins. When Harry pressed inside, Maya’s whole brain exploded with fireworks. It was so long since she had a sexual partner that she almost forgot what it felt like. But after Harry, she knew she’d never forget again.

Maya’s fingertips dug deeply into Harry’s arms, turning them a bloodless white. She didn’t have very much experience at sex and only a couple partners to compare to, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how Harry seemed to know what he was doing from the start. She felt pleasure in parts of her body she’d never felt before.

He was absolutely captivating. He looked deeply into her eyes, he kissed her at all of the right moments and his stamina was unprecedented. Both of their breathing was heightened and with ever huff or moan from Harry’s lips it sent tiny little prickles of pleasure through her body.

As her breathing became more ragged, her body hummed with electricity. She knew she was close. Her skin was on fire, like she was going to miraculously spontaneously combust or something. But Harry kept on, his rhythm never faltering. And just like that, the rest of the world fell away, and it was just the two of them in that moment – heartbeat to heartbeat. Maya’s whole body erupted like an exploding star. She knew she let out a too-loud groan as she did and hoped like hell that her parents didn’t hear her.

When Harry’s face dropped into the nape of her neck, letting out a guttural moan, his whole body frozen like a statue, she knew he found his end too.

Harry looked just as wrecked as she felt when he finally rolled off of her. She still couldn’t believe it happened – that Harry just fucked her into orgasm. She never actually had an orgasm during sex before. If he wasn’t careful, she was sure to fall in love with him.

“Did you…?” Harry asked breathlessly.

“Surprisingly, yes,” Maya said contently.

“Surprisingly!?” Harry asked incredulously, leaning up to look at her.

“No, no. I mean, I’ve never gotten off during sex before,” Maya laughed, realizing she might have offended him.

“Never?” He asked, his eyebrows marred together.

“Nope,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.

“They were doing it wrong then,” Harry snickered. Maya let out a quiet laugh, hoping her parents were still sound asleep.

“I’ve never done it with the lights on either,” Maya smirked over at him.

“Really?” He asked curiously.

“Really,” she said, looking away from him, hoping she wasn’t revealing too much of herself.

“Hmm,” Harry hummed, lying back down against the mattress next to her.

Things got weird for Maya in an instance. She didn’t know what else to say to him. She didn’t want him to go, but she didn’t know how they’d pass the time if he were to stay.

“Do people ask you about your tattoos a lot?” Maya asked as she stared up at the ceiling.

“Occasionally,” he said, turning his body to face her.

For the next hour the two of them carried on a conversation about tattoos and bad choices and places they wanted to go and things they wanted to do and so on.

When Harry finally snuck back out her window to meet his awaiting cab, she couldn’t help but watch him as he walked away with an all new appreciation for him. She learned more about him in the last hour than she did in the whole six months she knew him. And the thing that really didn’t surprise her in the least is that she wanted to know more. She wanted to learn everything there was to know about Harry Styles.


	3. Part Three

**{November 2015}**

“Maya May!” Louis shouted as she walked in the front door of Niall’s flat.

“That’s not my middle name,” Maya smirked at him.

“You keep telling me that, but I don’t much care, love. You will always be Maya May to me!” Louis said, throwing an arm around her and leaving a wet kiss on her lips.

She silently thought to herself how utterly insane it was that nearly every single time she’d been around Louis he was drunker than a football fan on game day. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. Louis was the happiest drunk she ever met.

As they walked deeper into the apartment, she noticed just how packed the place was with people – like it was some sort of holiday or something. But she knew Niall never did anything half-assed. He was the friendliest person she knew and he had a lot of friends because of it.

“Keg’s in the kitchen, love. You better catch up,” Louis told her.

Maya hated coming to the party late because everyone seemed to be having a much better time than she was. But she knew she could easily rectify that situation and she made a beeline toward the kitchen to grab herself a cup. There were a lot of people Maya didn’t know congregated in the kitchen, but there was one face she did recognize and he was smack dab in the middle of the new faces.

Harry’s eyes met with hers as soon as she walked it. Green stared into blue and it was so rewarding how she caught his attention so quickly. She smiled bashfully, biting her lip as she looked at him and he raised an eyebrow in response. She broke the eye contact when she saw the keg out of the corner of her eye. When she looked back up, Harry was already once again chatting up the people in his vicinity.

She didn’t want to look like she was waiting to talk to him, which she wasn’t, so she headed toward the living room where she knew Camille and Eleanor would be.

“Maya!” Camille said drunkly, getting off her boyfriend, Jeremy’s lap to greet her.

Maya was really happy for Camille that she was in a relationship and she really liked Jeremy, but sometimes it annoyed her that she was always clinging onto him. Like, she couldn’t do anything without Jeremy attached to her hip.

“We’re going play beer pong. Want to come?” Camille asked excitedly.

“Sure,” Maya said, shrugging her shoulders. Maybe it would take her mind off of Harry and the gang of girls he was chatting up.

Camille grabbed her hand and led her down to the basement where there were two beer pong tables set up in the common space. Once an available table opened up, Eleanor and Maya took one side against Jeremy and Camille. Maya thought it might be easy winning against them since Camille sucked so hard at beer pong. But what Camille lacked, Jeremy definitely made up for. He was really good, sinking his shots nearly every time. Eleanor and Maya were both getting pretty drunk after three games consecutively, having to get refills between each game.

When they finally decided to go upstairs and join the party again, Maya immediately felt Harry’s presence. She couldn’t help the feelings of jealousy bubbling up inside of her as she watched from afar as he carried on a conversation with the pretty blonde across the room. He and the girl were laughing together and it almost felt like someone was stabbing her straight in the heart. Maya remembered how great if felt when she was the new thing in Harry’s sights. She watched as the mystery girl flirted back, occasionally placing her hand on Harry’s arm and laughing at all his jokes. Both their body language spoke volumes as to how they felt. They wanted to fuck each other.

Maya took a deep breath and made a beeline for the kitchen where a whole array of different alcohol sat perched on the counter. She decided to grab a bottle of vodka and poured a little into her empty cup. She took the shot and let out a low hiss, reacting to the disgusting taste of it.

“No,” she said, screwing the top back on and placing it back on the counter.

_Tequila?_ She asked herself before pouring some into the bottom of her cup. She took that shot too and another low hiss came out of her mouth, realizing that tequila was just as disgusting as vodka. Her last choice was whiskey. She dumped a little bit too much in the bottom of her cup, but tipped it back anyway. The brown liquid burned like fire all the way down, but she kind of liked the feeling.

“ _Awhh_ ,” she sighed, satisfied with her last choice. _Three’s a charm_.

“What are you doing?” Maya heard Camille ask from behind her.

“Oh, uh. I’m trying to figure out what I should drink,” Maya told her.

“Whiskey? Absolutely _vile_ ,” Camille said, turning up her nose.

“I quite like it,” Maya said, pouring another shot for herself.

“I’ll take tequila!” Camille giggled, grabbing for the bottle to pour her own shot.

“Cheers?” Maya said once they both had a shot in each of their cups.

“Cheers!” Camille said happily, knocking her cup against Maya’s.

The two of them downed the liquid and let out satisfying hisses.

“It burns so good,” Maya said with a laugh.

“Mm-hmm,” Camille said, her face still screwed up from the nasty tasting alcohol. Maya giggled at her friend.

“Beer… I need more beer,” Camille said, turning toward the keg and Maya laughed again.

“Yes, beer,” Maya agreed.

For the next hour or so, Maya continued to drink recklessly, trying to get Harry off her mind. But it was hard, because he was still hanging out with the blonde bimbo and it made Maya want to explode. Soon Maya was so drunk she could barely speak without slurring and barely stand without swaying.

“I-I don’ feel so good,” Maya told Eleanor who was standing next to her.

“Are you okay?” El asked, looking at her concerned.

“I’m goin’a puke,” Maya said as she quickly started for the bathroom.

She made it into Niall’s private bathroom just in time to empty her stomach into the toilet bowl. As much as she hated the taste of alcohol as it was going down, it was a million times worse coming back up. As she dry-heaved into the toilet, the tears came at full force.

“Oh my god, My. Are you okay?” Eleanor asked, standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Camille – get Camille,” Maya whined into the toilet bowl.

“Okay. I’ll be right back,” El said, leaving the bathroom.

Maya’s knees hurt as they ground into the bathroom tile, but nothing would stop the god damn dry-heaving. She thought her whole body might never stop convulsing.

“My – Maya, ohmygod,” Camille said quickly as she came into the bathroom and knelt by her friend, rubbing her back.

Maya continued to cry and the dry-heaving finally stopped, but she still didn’t feel like she was well enough to move away from the toilet.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Camille cooed, still rubbing her back. Maya whimpered, but she couldn’t find the energy to answer.

Her head spun and her stomach turned. All she could think about was Harry with the blonde. What were they doing now? Did they slip away with each other to be alone?

“What time is it?” Maya managed to ask. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Camille look up at the doorway and she noticed that Eleanor was there again.

“Twelve-ten,” Eleanor told her softly. Maya groaned inwardly.

It was past midnight. Harry was probably with that girl and she felt betrayed. She had no right to be, but she did anyway. What was he doing with her? Was he making her laugh? Was he making her moan? At the thought of him in bed with the girl, Maya felt her stomach turn violently and she knew she would throw up again.

“Oh, God,” Maya moaned as she sat up on her knees and heaved into the toilet again as the tears streaked down her cheeks.

“Why doesn’t he love me?” Maya cried once her stomach had enough.

“ _My_ …” Camille breathed lowly, the nickname flowing off her tongue so sugary sweet.

“Why doesn’t he love me, Cami?” Maya cried again.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Camille said, running her palm up and down Maya’s back.

“He’s with another girl right now,” Maya pointed out.

“Who’s with another girl?” Eleanor asked curiously.

“Harry,” Camille told her.

“Harry _fucking_ Styles,” Maya grumbled spitefully.

“ _Oh_ ,” Eleanor said, sounding shocked. Harry and Maya managed to keep their little affair quiet for a long time – nearly two years, but it was the end of that – Maya didn’t care who knew anymore.

“Did you know… did you know that we… that midnight… that’s our time…” Maya began babbling through her drunken stupor.

She looked up at Eleanor, who seemed to be hearing all of this for the first time, which meant Harry never told Louis, which didn’t sit well with Maya. Louis was his best mate. Why wouldn’t he tell his best mate? Maya told Camille everything about her relationship with Harry. The fact that he hid her from even his best mate just frustrated Maya even more.

“Yeah. For almost two years…” Maya told her.

“Two years?” Eleanor questioned incredulously, her eyes going wide.

“Maya, you’re really, _really_ drunk right now,” Camille pointed out.

“I don’ care. I’ve spent two years being his… his what? His booty call? _Jesus Christ_. What the hell am I even doing? I-I let him… _use_ me for two years. And for what? To be cryin’ in the loo over him when I see him with another girl? Fuck him. _Fuck_ Harry Styles,” Maya ranted, trying to scrape up her dignity off the bathroom floor.

“I had no idea about you and Harry,” Eleanor told her.

“It’s okay. Nobody did. Harry’s ashamed or something. Didn’t even have the _bollocks_ to tell his best mate!” Maya said, yelling the last part loudly.

“Maya, _shhh_. Calm down,” Camille told her.

“You girls alright in here?” Niall asked, poking his head into the bathroom.

“Yeah, just fine,” Maya snapped.

“ _Ohh_ -kay,” Niall said awkwardly.

“No, Niall. No. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I love you, _Niiiialllll_ ,” Maya crooned. Niall laughed immediately because of how drunk she was.

“We’re fine, Niall,” Camille told him.

“Take care of her,” Niall chuckled.

“Hey, hey, Niall,” Maya said drunkly.

“Yes, love,” Niall said, smiling amusingly at her.

“Tell Harry something for me, would ya?” Maya asked.

“Anything, love,” Niall said with a laugh.

“Say… say ‘ _fuck you_ from Maya’,” Maya said with as much seriousness in her tone as she could muster.

“No, no, Niall. Don’t say that. _No_ ,” Camille said, waving her hand through the air.

“Whoa-ho-ho,” Niall laughed out loud.

“She’s really drunk. You’ll have to forgive her,” Eleanor said, gently pushing Niall out of his own bathroom.

“No! No! Tell him ‘FUCK YOU’!” Maya yelled loudly even after Eleanor shut the bathroom door on Niall.

“Oh my god, Maya,” Eleanor laughed.

“You need to take a deep breath,” Camille laughed at her best friend.

“I hate him for making me feel like this,” Maya said, taking a deep breath before the tears began anew.

“Maya, I want you to listen to me right now, okay,” Camille said, looking straight into Maya’s eyes. Maya continued to cry, feeling a pain in her heart she never felt before.

“Are you listening?” Camille asked and Maya slowly nodded her head.

“I think now is the time you need to either tell Harry exactly how you feel or end it with him altogether. You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Maya,” Camille told her.

“How do I do that?” Maya asked quietly, an unabashed terror crawling through her veins at the thought of either of those options.

“I don’t know. But you can’t keep living like this. It’s not fair for Harry to use you as a booty call whenever he feels like it – you know, fuck you in a laundry room and then flirt with other girl’s right in front of you. It’s not fair,” Camille said sternly.

“A laundry room?” Eleanor gasped quietly.

“Yeah, at Zayn’s Halloween party,” Camille filled her in.

Maya closed her eyes and thought about how different her life was before she saw Harry with that girl and how much closer she felt to having him all for herself.

 

 

**{Halloween 2015}**

Maya wasn’t sure why it was like an unwritten rule for a female to dress in a slutty costume for Halloween – _slutty nurse, slutty police officer, slutty school girl, etc_ – but it was. She never really followed that rule in Halloween’s in the past – the previous year she was Hermione from Harry Potter and not a slutty one. This year really wasn’t any different. Although she did decide to revamp her Halloween style a bit, arriving at Zayn’s Halloween party dressed as a female heavyweight boxer. It wasn’t purposely slutty, but the too-tight white tank top and too-short golden shorts were enough to categorize it as such. She wore her hair in twin boxer braids and had tape wrapped around her knuckles like a boxer would. She thought she looked more classy than slutty, but that was just her biased opinion.

When she got to the Halloween party, she was more than ready to have a good time. She really loved her friends and enjoyed all the time she got to spend with them – especially one. She caught his green stare from across the living room. Her insides immediately tightened just thinking about being in his presence again, thinking about how she wanted to end the night – with her under him or vice versa.

Harry was dressed as a police officer, fake mustache and all. She might have thought he looked ridiculous in his costume if she didn’t find him so hypnotically attractive all the time. Maya knew she needed a drink and she needed it as soon as possible if she were going to survive another night of the two of them pretending they knew each other a lot less than they really did. How they managed to fool their whole group of friends for two years was baffling to her.

As the night progressed, Louis ended up running around the party half-naked after ditching his itchy and physically annoying costume of fifty different gray paint swatches – a play on _50 Shades of Grey_. After the first few swatches fell off and he spilled a beer down the front of himself, he was done playing Halloween. Zayn dressed as Scarface for the party, Liam came as a lumberjack and Niall won the costume contest, dressing elaborately as Jon Snow from the _Game of Thrones_ at the moment he got stabbed in the gut by his brothers of the night watch. Camille dressed as Daenerys Targaryen from _Game of Thrones_ , unaware that she would look more like a couple with Niall than her boyfriend Jeremy, who dressed as a dragon to go along with Daenerys’ whole Mother of Dragons vibe. Eleanor decided not to dress all matchy-matchy with Louis and came as Jessica Rabbit from the 80’s American cult-classic _Who Framed Roger Rabbit? –_ sexy red dress, long ginger hair and all. Maya loved Halloween because she loved seeing everyone’s creativity come alive and she loved being someone else for a night. It was all so much fun.

As Maya made her way back toward the kitchen to re-fill her drink, Harry caught up with her, stopping her in her tracks. His stick-on mustache fell off his upper lip and was now stuck to the side of his orange solo cup – appropriately colored for the holiday. He leaned in closely, his lips skating across her ear lobe. She couldn’t breathe while he was so close to her. His presence suffocated her, but she knew she would never tire of being with him, even if it was bad for her health. Her heart began to pound heavily against her ribcage as he whispered in her ear, despite the fact that all of their friends were mere feet away from them.

“It’s almost twelve,” Harry breathed quietly.

Maya’s breathing hitched. It was never spoken out loud that 12 am was a thing between them. It was just something she noticed – like a coincidence. She looked at Harry questioningly, wondering if it was planned that way all along. Like it was his master plan for all these years.

12 am. It was their time.

“You…” She breathed, unable to finish the sentence.

“I covet this time of night,” he whispered, leaving a kiss on her forehead before walking into the kitchen, silently begging her to follow him.

Maya’s head spun from his words, from their meaning. Harry was an enigma. She was certain she would never understand him.

Harry disappeared into a small room right off the kitchen and she followed quickly behind him, realizing it was Zayn’s laundry room. Once they were alone together Harry pulled the small pocket door closed behind them. Maya sent him a mischievous smile and he rewarded her with one of his own. Moments later, Harry leaned in and captured her lips with his own, tangling their tongues together. His fingers slipped down the front of her tiny shorts and she giggled against his mouth.

“In here?” Maya asked, feeling a bit self-conscious that any passer-by would be able to hear them.

“Yeah. Why not?” He asked, looking down in her eyes expectantly. Maya bit her lip hesitantly.

“Fine. Here,” Harry said, leaning over to turn the dial on the dryer before he pressed the start button and the dryer came to life.

“Is that better? It will drown out any noise,” Harry told her.

“Okay,” Maya said quietly, finally getting on board.

“Okay,” Harry breathed against her lips before he kissed her again.

Their mouths were back on one another’s a moment later and Maya could already feel herself getting turned on just by the prospect of sex with Harry – not to mention the almost voyeuristic nature of it, being they could be caught at any moment. Her hands slid up his shirt, beginning the task of unbuttoning it. Harry slipped his hands around her waist, then down to her backside before picking her up just to place her down on the top of the dryer. Maya let out a tiny squeal at his sudden movement and then giggled as she looked into his eyes. Harry smirked back at her before quickly pulling her to the utmost edge of appliance.

Maya bit her lip, feeling the heat and the rumble of the dryer below her. It was rapidly helping her sexual mood. Harry’s fingers tugged at her tight tank top and she lifted her arms for him to pull it off of her. It was discarded a second later somewhere on the floor as Harry’s hands found her again, sliding seductively underneath the bottom edge of her sports bra.

“Take it off,” she challenged, quirking a brow at him.

“Gladly,” Harry snipped, gripping onto the garment before ripping it off of her.

Once she was topless, she could see the lust swirling in Harry’s eyes, which was doing her in. She loved making him horny. She loved that she held that power when they were alone with one another. She loved the look in his eyes. She would forever have it bookmarked in her brain. Their time together would always mean to so much to her.

Her fingers went back to their task of unbuttoning his shirt and finally succeeded, slipping it off of his shoulders slowly, admiring his supple flesh peppered with tattoos. He looked almost ethereal in the dim light. She was completely captivated.

When her mind came back to its senses, Maya quickly began unbuckling his belt as he leaned in, kissing across her clavicle. Once she got his trousers undone, she pushed them down the swell of his ass and they fell to the floor with a loud thud – his toy gun falling out of the holster on the belt, clanging across the floor. The two of them froze for a moment, hoping they didn’t just draw attention to themselves. Maya giggled a moment later, biting at her lip.

“You,” Harry accused playfully, smiling widely at her.

“Me? Ha!” She laughed.

“ _Mm-hmm_ ,” he hummed, eyeing her blithely.

“Shut it,” she said, smirking at him as she wiggled herself out of her shorts and panties, tossing them to the floor.

With a smirk, Harry dropped his boxer briefs and stepped up close to her, pulling her toward the edge of the dryer again. Their lips connected, their tongues tangling wildly. It was only then that she questioned to herself the decision to get fully naked. What if someone were to walk in? What if someone were to walk in and there was a full viewing audience in the kitchen? They would both be on display for everyone. God forbid anyone have the camera on their phone open. _Hashtag naked selfie_. Maya pulled Harry’s body closer to herself, hoping he would be able to block her nakedness if they were to get caught. Because at this point, who out of all their friends hadn’t seen Harry’s ass. He and his mates had drunkenly streaked through a party on more than one occasion just to get a laugh out of people.

When Maya felt Harry press inside of her, she let out a low moan and tightened her grasp around him. She always loved those first few seconds of penetration. She always felt so full – of Harry, of his love, his attention. She was his.

Harry built up a quick rhythm inside of her as she finally loosened her grip on him. His mouth traveled down her front, sucking in a nipple. A spark of pleasure shot through her and she let out another moan. The vibrations from the dryer were heightening everything inside of her as he fucked her until she was seeing stars. She was almost there and she knew it. Harry’s rhythm faltered, and a moment later he stopped altogether. A sense of dread washed over her when she hadn’t found her ending before he did.

“My, we… we need to switch positions,” Harry told her and she felt relief when she realized he hadn’t come yet.

“Yeah. Yeah, sure,” she told him.

“Come… come down here,” he said quietly.

“Okay,” she said, slipping down the dryer as her feet found the floor again.

“Turn around,” he said, gripping onto her waist to help her fulfil his wish as he physically turned her toward the dryer.

“Lean down a bit,” he said, patting his hand lightly on the top of the dryer. Maya did as asked and leaned her front against the dryer, which caused her bottom to pop out at him.

“Perfect,” he breathed, sliding his hands gently down her backside.

A moment later, she felt his mouth on her from behind and she let out a low moan, feeling his tongue slip down her slit before he stood back up, pressing himself inside of her from behind. She let out another moan as her head dropped down in front of her. Pleasure engulfed her quickly as he built up his rhythm again. It wouldn’t be long before she lost it. He seemed to be at a better angle for both of them and she could feel his fingers digging savagely into her hips, like he might lose it at any moment.

“Please… _oh_ … please, keep going,” she breathed lowly as her entire body began tingling with orgasm. She felt it build within her, turning her almost inside out with its intensity.

“Oh, God. Oh, _God_ ,” she moaned lowly as she gripped against the sides of the rumbling dryer.

A few more thrusts and she heard Harry let out a low groan moments before his body fell forward, pressing her hard against the dryer. His heavy breathing whirled passed her ear. She could barely breathe with him against her, but she couldn’t move or speak. She was in a sexual paralysis that she revealed in. A moment later the dryer buzzed loudly and the two of them scrambled away from it in a startled panic.

“Holy shit,” Harry said, letting out a chuckle.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Maya snapped as she clutched at her chest just above her rapidly beating heart.

“Christ,” Harry grumbled, running his fingers through his wild hair.

“That fucking dryer almost gave me a heart attack,” Maya said, pointing at the inanimate object. Harry let out a low laugh as he leaned down to pick up his boxer briefs, quietly slipping them back on.

The two dressed in silence before Harry inched open the laundry room door to check if the coast was clear.

“Okay. You can go out first and then I’ll follow after. There’s no one in the kitchen, but I don’t expect it to stay that way for long,” Harry explained.

“Okay,” Maya said quietly, looking up into his big green eyes.

Harry smiled down at her and she smiled back before he leaned down, kissing the tip of her nose.

“You’re so fun, Maya,” he breathed.

“Yeah…” she said, the word falling off the tip of her tongue like a person falling off a cliff. It held the same grave feeling too.

She was _fun_. She knew what _fun_ meant to him and she knew it didn’t bode well with the feelings she felt for him. She was _fun_ and she was _naïve_ and she was _stupid_ and she knew her plan to win him over entirely was bound to fail in the end. What kind of relationship did she expect to gain by fucking him whenever and wherever he wanted? Answer: none. Absolutely none.


	4. Part Four

**{Christmas Eve 2015}**

Maya could barely drag herself out of her flat to go to Louis’ Ugly Christmas Sweater/Birthday Party. She felt absolutely hideous in the jumper she chose for the party. It was red with a massive Santa face on the front of it and it made her look frumpy and gross. Her self-esteem was already so low, she didn’t even know how she’d be able to face anyone at the party, let alone Harry – who she hadn’t spoken to in almost three weeks. He’d text her, but she never replied. As far as she knew, he thought everything was okay between them. And she knew that it should be – that seeing him with another girl shouldn’t have fucked her up so badly. But it did and she didn’t know how to get over that.

So walking into Louis and Harry’s flat alone, wearing a hideous Santa face jumper and little to no self-esteem, threw her for a loop… or twenty. She wasn’t ready to see his face.

“MAYA MAY!” She heard Louis scream immediately. She could tell just by looking at him in his Christmas vest and turtleneck, double fisting two drinks, that he was already completely pissed.

“Hi, Louis. Happy Birthday,” Maya said with a timid smile.

“Happy Birthday to me and happy Christmas to you! It’s so good to see you, love,” Louis said, leaning in to leave a wet kiss on her lips.

“You, too,” she said quietly.

“Come, come. Everyone’s here. You’re a bit late by the way. Is everything okay?” Louis said, throwing an arm around her shoulder, sloshing a bit of beer on her in the process.

“Oh, yeah. Um, I just couldn’t figure out which ugly sweater to wear,” Maya lied.

“Well, you’ve chosen well. That is the ugliest Claus I’ve ever seen,” Louis laughed, checking out her jumper as they walked into the living room.

“Maya!” Camille and Eleanor said at the same time.

“Hi,” Maya said, smiling at her two friends.

“I’m glad you’re finally here!” Camille said, stumbling off her boyfriend Jeremy’s lap, throwing her arms around Maya in a hug.

“Yeah,” Maya said quietly as her eyes connected with Harry’s from across the room.

His smile was all for her, but she could tell there were questions in his eyes. _Where have you been? Why haven’t you text me back? What’s up with you lately?_ She could only imagine.

“C’mon, c’mon. I’ll get you a drink!” Camille said, pulling out of Maya’s arms, breaking her eye contact with Harry.

Camille pulled her into the kitchen where the keg sat in an ice-filled bucket that was surrounded by a bunch of their friends.

“One beer please!” Camille said to Niall who already had the tap in his hand, ready to pour.

“Maya, glad to see ya,” Niall said, smiling at her as he filled up a red solo cup for her.

“You too, Niall,” Maya said, smiling at him fondly. A moment later he handed her the brimming full cup.

“I don’t know if I can drink all of this. I’m not feeling well,” Maya said to Camille.

“Nonsense. I know why you’re acting so standoffish and really, there is no need to be. He was already asking about you, you know,” Camille said quietly as they walked away from the keg.

“No. What? No. That’s not why—” Maya tried to protest.

“Listen, Maya. Louis told Eleanor, who told me that Harry never even hooked up with that girl. I guess they were friends when they were kids or something,” Camille went on to say.

“Stop. Just stop. I don’t care about that. Why are you telling me that?” Maya said, shaking her head. Wasn’t Camille the one telling her to forget about Harry a couple of weeks before?

“You know why,” Camille said, eyeing her knowingly.

“You’re drunk and you’re being ridiculous. Will you just drop it? I don’t care,” Maya said, even though it was a lie and Camille knew it.

“Okay, okay. Whatever you say,” Camille said, holding her hands up defensively.

Maya got about halfway through her cup of beer before Harry managed to make his way over to her.

“Hey,” he said quietly, cornering her in the kitchen.

“Hey,” she said casually as she took another sip from her cup.

“Where have you been?” He asked immediately and she mentally checked the question off her list of questions she knew he’d ask her.

“Um, around. I guess I’ve kind of been a hermit lately,” Maya said, shrugging her shoulders passively.

“Oh. Yeah, I uh, text you… a bunch of times actually. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought you died or something,” Harry told her.

“Nope. I’m still kickin’ it,” she said, feeling ten shades of awkward.

“Yeah. I can see that. It also crossed my mind that you might be angry with me for some reason,” Harry continued.

“Oh, uh, no,” Maya said, shaking her head, trying to act casual.

“Really? Cause I mean, everyone seems to have heard from you but me,” Harry pointed out.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for… I didn’t— sorry,” she stammered, feeling her whole face heat up.

“So you’re not angry?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“Nope,” she said evenly, taking another sip of her beer.

“I don’t know. It seems… it’s seems kind of weird right now,” he pointed out.

“Weird? How?” She asked, even though she knew it was painfully weird.

“I don’t know. Usually we’d already be doing shots or goofing around with each other by now. But it’s just… tense,” he told her.

“I don’t know. I’m not really feeling well tonight. As a matter of fact, this beer is only making my stomach feel worse,” Maya said, setting the cup down on the countertop behind her.

“Oh,” Harry said as his eyes raked over her entire face at least a hundred times as they stood there staring at each other.

“I promise I’m not angry,” Maya tried to assure him again, but he still didn’t seem convinced. His eyebrow quirked again.

“Harry, seriously,” she whined, wishing his interrogation would end.

“Alright,” he said, finally letting his face relax. She watched a sly smile turn up his lips.

“What?” She asked.

“Nice jumper,” he said with a light laugh.

“Like you have any room to talk,” she snorted, reaching out to press Rudolph’s nose on his sweater and almost jumped when it lit up and started blinking.

“Ohmygod!” Maya laughed.

“It’s great, innit?” Harry laughed proudly.

“It’s something,” Maya said, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

Seconds later Harry leaned in, pressing his lips ever so slightly to her ear lobe.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered and pulled back to look in her eyes again.

“You too,” she breathed quietly, feeling the thick sexual tension between them.

A moment later Eleanor and Camille came rushing into the kitchen to get Louis’ birthday cake and recruited her to help them light the candles, breaking her away from Harry.

Once the cake was demolished and Louis decided it was time for shots, Maya pulled Camille aside to tell her that she was going to go because she didn’t feel well. It was a cop out, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t having fun. She just felt like she was pulling everyone’s moods down as they tried to get her to have a good time. It wasn’t easy to convince a drunk Camille that she needed to go. There was an argument and a lot of begging, but finally Maya was in a cab headed back to her flat alone.

Maya immediately pulled off her stupid Santa jumper and threw it in the back of her closet, hoping she wouldn’t have to see it again for another year. She stripped down to her bra and panties and made her way into the bathroom to clean off all her makeup and take off her jewelry. She just wanted to go to sleep. But her large lonely bed sat in the middle of her room, taunting her. It hadn’t seen any action in almost two months and that only brought her spirits down further. She was hung up on an emotionally unavailable guy and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get over him.

Nevertheless, she crawled in-between the crisp, cool sheets and pulled the blankets up to her chin. But her mind was her enemy and so was the clock. She looked over to see it was only 11:45. She barely spent an hour and a half at Louis’ birthday party. She knew she was fading. She knew that soon she would have to face her demons rather than avoid them. But she also knew she didn’t have to deal with them anymore that night. She could relax and deflect until morning, but unfortunately for her, it wasn’t that easy. Every time she looked at the clock, only a few minutes had passed and she was unable to stop thinking about her feelings. It was going to be a long night.

“Happy Christmas to me,” she said sarcastically to herself.

Just as her brain began to finally shutdown, she heard the text chime on her phone. For a moment she decided to ignore it, but when her eyes flit over the clock again to see the large numbers displaying 12:00 AM, she knew exactly who the text was from and she could no longer ignore the itch in her blood for him. Her arm reached out to retrieve her cell phone and she quickly opened up the text. She could immediately feel the pride and elation in her chest when she was proven right – the text was from him. As if it was some sort of grand prize at the end of her shitty night.

_I’m right outside your flat. I brought champagne._

Her gut wrenched painfully. Why? Why was he there? Maya sat up in her bed and contemplated her options. She could ignore him and hope he’d go away. Or she could let him up…

She slid quietly out of bed and grabbed for her robe, sliding it on her shoulders to cover herself up before quickly typing a reply.

_I’ll buzz you in._

Maya’s whole entire body was wracked with nerves as she waited for him to make his way up to her flat. She sat on the couch, wrapped up in her robe, shaking from the cold. When she heard a light knock on her door, she called for him to come in. She couldn’t breathe in the moments between. When Harry crossed over the threshold into her flat with a megawatt smile on his face, her nerves were completely shot.

“Hi,” he whispered as if there were someone else in the flat that he was trying not to wake up.

“Hi,” she whispered back, mainly because her body wasn’t allowing her voice to come out any louder.

“You left the party,” he said matter-of-factly, staring at her from across the room with a bottle of champagne in his hand. She noticed he wasn’t wearing his silly light-up Rudolph jumper any longer. Instead it was replaced with a white t-shirt and black peacoat that he slipped off his shoulders and hung on the coat rack by the door like he’d done so many nights before.

“Yeah. I don’t feel well,” she told him sheepishly.

“It’s a good thing I came over then,” he told her with a sly smirk on his face as he kicked off his boots.

“Why is that?” She questioned.

“So I can take care of you,” he said matter-of-factly.

Maya’s brow furrowed in question, completely shocked by his answer. Harry set the bottle of champagne down on the small table by the door and crossed the room toward her. She sucked in a breath and held it in as he lifted his hand to check the temperature of her forehead.

“You don’t feel warm,” he told her.

“It’s, uh… it’s my stomach,” she told him.

“Are you shivering?” He asked, noticing her obviously shaking in her thin robe.

“It’s cold in here,” she told him.

“Let’s get you to bed. C’mon,” he said, waving his hand through the air to motivate her to move.

“Harry…” she challenged.

“Come on, My,” he said, gripping her hand and leading her off the couch.

To her complete and utter surprise, he tucked her into bed and left a kiss on her forehead. He didn’t try to make a move on her. He was a gentleman through and through.

“Do you want some water? Or some medicine for your tummy?” He asked lovingly and it made her heart ache.

“Um, some water, maybe?” She said and he immediately nodded his head and disappeared out of her bedroom.

She could hear him in her kitchen, going through her cupboards, trying to find a glass, she supposed. He was less familiar with the other rooms in her house, unlike her bedroom. A few moments later he came back into the room and set a glass of water down on the nightstand.

“I’ve gotten you some antacids, just in case you want them,” he said, dropping two tablets onto the nightstand next to the glass.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said quietly.

She half expected him to leave now that he had her all tucked in, but he surprised her again and laid down next to her in the bed.

“You don’t have to stay,” she said quietly.

“I want to,” he told her softly. She sent him an odd look, which caused him to laugh.

“Besides, the party is still going on at my flat and I have to get up early for Christmas morning. How am I supposed to get any sleep there?” He explained.

“You want to sleep over?” She asked, her eyebrows heightening in surprise.

“Would you mind?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“N-no. Do what you want,” she stammered, feeling surprised and elated – and she hated herself just a little bit for feeling that way.

Harry leaned in a second later and left a soft kiss on her lips.

“Get some sleep, love,” he breathed and closed his eyes after pulling the blankets over his body.

Maya laid there for a long time watching him as he lay with his head on the pillow, his eyes closed, trying to get some sleep. Even when his breathing evened out and she knew he was asleep, she continued to watch him. He was beautiful. Everything about him. She had never been able to look at him for so long. She never had the nerve to. But now with him unconscious and vulnerable she had the perfect opportunity. She fell asleep somewhere during the wee hours of the morning with her stomach tied in knots. Everything was so complicated and she didn’t know what to do about it.

“Happy Christmas,” Harry croaked in her ear, waking her up in the morning.

For a moment, she was caught off guard because he was still there, still in her bed, sitting up against the head board. She also noticed that at some point, in the in the few hours she was asleep, he disrobed and was now only wearing his boxer briefs.

“Happy Christmas,” she replied, doing her best not to breathe on him with her morning breath.

“I need to be going soon,” he told her.

“Oh,” she said quietly, unable to keep the disappointment out of her tone.

“I’ve got to get to my Mum’s for Christmas morning, but I didn’t want to just leave, you know,” he told her.

“Oh, okay,” she nodded.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked as she sat up in the bed, her robe slung open, revealing her bra and panties.

“Yes. I think so,” she said quietly, idly rubbing her hand against her stomach.

“Good,” he said, smiling over at her.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, feeling almost stunned, like her brain was having a hard time catching up with the situation.

“I should go,” he said again and she finally looked up at him.

“Okay,” she said with a nod.

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked, looking almost concerned.

“I’m fine. Thank you,” she told him, sending him a soft smile to reassure him.

“Alright,” he said leaning in to kiss her forehead sweetly.

She watched him slide out of the bed and pick up his clothes off the floor, taking them into the bathroom with him. Maya got out of bed and tied her robe tightly against her waist and headed out to the kitchen. Maybe she could send him off with some coffee.

She quickly flitted around her kitchen finding the coffee beans and filters, prepping the machine before it began to percolate. Harry came out a moment later, his hair pulled up in a bun, his face looking freshly cleaned and his clothes replaced back on his body.

“Do you want some coffee… to go?” She asked him hesitantly.

“Uh, sure,” he said with a nod.

The two of them stood in silence as the pot of coffee finished. Maya already had a to-go cup ready and waiting on the countertop and when the coffee was ready she poured it in, but not to the top, because she knew he liked milk and sugar in it. Without even asking, she grabbed the milk from the fridge and poured some in. And then dropped a spoonful of sugar in, stirring it for him. She pushed the lid on and handed it to him, noticing the wide smile on his lips.

“You know my coffee order?” He asked, his smile turning into a smirk.

“Oh, well… I know a lot of people’s coffee order. I know that Niall and Zayn like it black. I know that you and Liam share the same order. I know that Camille puts so much milk and sugar in hers that you can’t even really consider it coffee anymore. I know that Eleanor likes cappuccino. I know that Louis prefers tea, but if he’s drinking coffee he likes two sugars…” Maya rambled on as Harry quirked his eyebrow curiously at her.

“I…I know my beverages…” she said sheepishly, feeling like a babbling idiot.

“And how do you like your coffee?” Harry asked, quirking his head to the left.

“Like you and Liam…” she said quietly, biting at her lip.

“Good to know,” he said finally.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding her head.

“Well, I should go,” he told her, turning out of the small kitchen with a small smile on his face. Maya followed him out, making sure her robe was still tied tightly.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve got a Christmas present for you,” Harry told her, catching her completely off guard.

“You do?” She asked, feeling surprised and a bit thrown.

“I do,” he said, setting the coffee down on the small table by the door, next to his bottle of unopened champagne. A moment later he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny red box with a tiny green bow on it.

He’d never gotten her a Christmas present before. The only presents their group of friends do is a Secret Santa gift exchange and in the two Christmases she’d been a part of, Harry had never gotten her name – nor she him. She got him a gift last Christmas at the height of her crush for him, but never gave it to him because she felt stupid. But when putting up her tree this holiday, she found the unopened gift in her Christmas box and placed it under the tree, just in case.

Maya bit her lip as he handed the small box to her and she took it in her hands. She was almost afraid to open it. It looked like a jewelry box and that fact sent a wave of anxiety through her, because on one hand she was hoping for jewelry from Harry and on the other hand, she was scared to death to get jewelry from Harry because she didn’t know what it meant.

“Open it,” Harry urged her and she realized she was just staring at the box.

Slowly, with shaky fingers, Maya lifted off the top of the box and her eyes were met with two diamond earrings.

“Harry,” she gasped, her heart beating a mile a minute.

“Do you like them?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“I do,” she said quietly, staring at the earrings, wondering what they symbolized.

“Gemma helped me pick them out,” Harry told her.

Her stomach turned. His sister helped him shop for jewelry for her?

“Why?” She asked, looking up at him. His happy face noticeably dropped with her one word.

“Because… I’m not really good at picking out presents… especially jewelry,” he said, sounding a bit insecure.

“No. No, I mean, why earrings? Why would you get me jewelry?” She asked, feeling like she was having an out of body experience or something.

“Because they’re pretty and you’re pretty,” he stated, like it was the obvious answer.

“Oh,” she said, looking back down at the earrings.

“You don’t like them?” He asked, sounding disappointed.

“No. I-I love them, Harry. I do,” Maya said, sliding her finger across the beautiful stones.

“Good. You can think of me when you wear them,” he told her, sounding pleased once again.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, unable to pry her eyes away from her gift.

“Well, I should be going,” he told her.

“Wait,” she said, snapping out of her daze as she set the tiny box on the table by the couch and reached for the present for him that sat under her tree.

“I got you this,” she said, crossing the room to hand him the small gift.

“You did?” He asked, smiling widely at her. She nodded, appreciating the smile she put on his face.

Harry quickly ripped off the wrapping paper that she wrapped a year prior. He opened the small box and swiped away the tissue paper to find a leather bound journal with his initials burnt into the corner of the cover.

“Maya,” he breathed, pulling out the journal, setting the box and wrapping paper on the table next to him.

“I know you like to write and I figured you can never have too many journals,” Maya explained.

“It’s perfect,” he said, smiling widely at her before closing the gap between them, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Thank you,” he breathed in her ear.

“Thank you,” she said quietly into his shoulder blade. He pulled away just enough to leave a soft kiss on her lips.

“You’re the best,” he told her, staring deeply into her eyes as his hand slipped slyly into the front of her robe, touching her warm skin. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I’ll talk to you soon, okay,” he breathed against her lips and she could noticeably smell the hint of mint on his breath. Had he brushed his teeth?

“Yeah,” she said quietly and Harry left another kiss on her lips before pulling away from her altogether to put on his jacket. Maya tightened her robe once again.

“I’ll see you later,” Harry said, grabbing the coffee and champagne, one in each hand, while the journal rest under his arm.

Maya quickly moved toward the door and opened it for him. He let out a little laugh before he thanked her again.

“Happy Christmas, Maya,” he told her.

“Happy Christmas, Harry,” she said and sent him a smile just before he disappeared out the door and she shut it behind him.


	5. Part Five

**{New Year’s Eve 2015}**

_I have some news. Can we get together before the party tonight?_

It was a text from Camille. It was quite cryptic and it made Maya curious and a bit anxious.

_I don’t know if I’ll have time before the party. Can you tell me now?_

Maya had so much to do, which included going to her mum and dad’s for lunch, then taking her gramps to the hospital for an appointment with his Cardiologist.

_I’d rather it be in person._

Maya sighed. She wasn’t making it easy.

_Do you want to come over before the party and help me get ready?_

She hoped her solution would work for both of them.

_Brilliant! I’ll be there around 7!_

Maya’s to-do list: Spend the afternoon with Mum and Dad, go to the Cardiologist with Gramps, meet up with Camille, and then go to Louis and Harry’s for Louis’ annual New Year’s Eve shindig. She was a bit nervous for the last one, because she didn’t really have the chance to talk to Harry since Christmas morning when he gave her the diamond earrings. She still hadn’t worn them. They just sat atop her dresser taunting her. She still had no idea what they meant. Why would he give her jewelry? Especially diamonds. Diamonds were for a fiancée or wife, not a booty call.

As pressured as Maya felt about her jam-packed day, she still enjoyed herself. She missed her mum and dad now that she didn’t see them every day. And she loved spending time with her Gramps. He was one of her favorite people and to know he was getting older and living with heart disease, every memory made with him was a memory cherished.

Camille came over just past seven o’clock with bags in tow, prepared to get ready at Maya’s house with her.

“What’s your big news?” Maya asked almost immediately. Camille’s smile widened exponentially.

“What?” Maya asked, looking at her oddly. She quickly dropped her bags on Maya’s bed and held up her left hand. Maya’s eyes widened when she saw the massive diamond ring on her finger.

“No way!” Maya hissed, her eyes wide and excited.

“Jeremy asked me to marry him on Christmas!” Camille screeched.

“No way!” Maya shouted, staring at the ring on her best friend’s finger.

“He did it in front of my whole family!” Camille explained excitedly.

“That’s amazing, Cami!” Maya told her, throwing her arms around her in a hug.

“Thank you,” Camille told her.

“Wow. I can’t believe it. That’s so great,” Maya told her.

“I can’t believe it either,” Camille said, admiring the rock on her finger.

“Wait a minute. He proposed to you a week ago and you’re just telling me now?” Maya protested.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. We’ve just been in this little love bubble. And well, I know you’ve been bummed about Harry lately, so I didn’t really want to rub my good news in your face,” Camille told her, looking sheepish.

“What? That’s _crazy_. Of course I’m happy for you, Camille. You’re my best friend,” Maya told her.

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to give you some time,” she said quietly.

“You’re a good friend, but I’m fine,” Maya told her.

The two of them got ready for their evening. Camille in a royal blue mini dress and Maya in a glittery black mini skirt and white silk blouse.

“Whoa. Who are these from?” Camille asked, finding the box with the diamond earrings in it on Maya’s dresser.

“Oh, uh, Harry gave those to me for Christmas,” Maya said, feeling her cheeks blush rapidly.

“What!?” Camille yelped.

“Yeah, uh. It’s a long story, but yeah. He gave them to me,” Maya told her.

“Oh my god. That’s amazing, My. You have to wear these tonight!” Camille said, thrusting the box out to her.

“What? No,” Maya said, shaking the idea off.

“Are you absolutely mad? Of course you’re wearing these. _My God_. He made a gesture, Maya. What do you think these are? Diamond earrings scream commitment!” Camille said, freaking out a bit.

“What!? No they don’t,” Maya countered.

“Diamond freakin’ earrings, Maya! He bought you diamonds!” Camille pointed out.

“So what?” Maya said passively.

“Put them on,” Camille told her.

“No,” Maya said, shaking her head.

“Put them on!” Camille insisted.

“I’m not—” Maya started to say.

“Put the god damn earrings on or so help me god, I will tell Harry that you’ve been in love with him since you met – which was two years ago _today_ , Maya!” Camille threatened.

“You wouldn’t,” Maya hissed, narrowing her eyes at her best friend.

“Try me,” Camille said, heightening her eyebrows and smirking devilishly at her.

“Fine. Give me the damn earrings,” Maya hissed, snatching the box out of Camille’s hand.

“Brilliant!” Camille said, clapping her hands together.

Reluctantly Maya slipped the earrings into her lobes and stared at herself in the mirror. They were gorgeous and they did go well with her outfit.

A little while later, Jeremy picked up both girls to bring them to the party. There were already loads of people at the South London flat by the time they got there, which was no different from the other years she spent there celebrating New Year’s Eve.

“I swear these parties just keep getting bigger and bigger every year,” Camille commented over the loud music.

The three of them – Maya, Camille and Jeremy – made their way further into the house as Maya scanned the crowd. She didn’t want to admit to herself she was looking for Harry, but she was. When they made it into the kitchen to deposit the booze they were contributing to the party, her eyes met his green ones. He was dressed in his signature black skinny jeans with a white t-shirt and a black blazer over it. He looked almost edible and Maya instantly registered the fact that their outfits complimented each other’s quite nicely – like their minds were connected when they got ready for the party that evening.

Harry smiled at Maya immediately, abandoning listening to the group of people he was chatting with altogether. A moment later, Louis came barreling into the kitchen screaming that he was happy they finally made it to the party. Louis shook Jeremy’s hand before hugging Camille and making his way over to Maya.

“Maya, baby – _darling_. How are you?” Louis asked drunkly, hugging her and sloppily leaving a kiss on her cheek so close to her mouth that she could taste the alcohol on his breath.

“Good, and you?” Maya asked, smiling at her friend.

“ _Smashing!_ I’m drunk and in love,” Louis cooed as his eyes fell on his girlfriend, Eleanor as she walked into the kitchen.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maya laughed.

“El. _Oi_ , El!” Louis shouted so close to Maya’s ear that it made her cringe. Eleanor’s attention was instantly drawn to her boyfriend and a smile turned up her lips when she saw Maya.

“Hi, My. How are you?” Eleanor asked as she slipped her arms around her for a hug.

“Brilliant. I was just having a chat with Louis,” Maya told her with a smile.

“He’s in rare form tonight,” Eleanor joked.

“’Ey now,” Louis scoffed, giving Eleanor a look of distaste.

“Oh, shut it, you,” Eleanor laughed, batting at Louis’ chest playfully.

“It’s my party and I’ll drink if I want to. Here, My. A special concoction I’ve been drinking,” Louis said, handing her a red solo cup.

“Mm…” Maya grunted, taking the cup, looking down at its contents. It looked dark and ominous and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to brave taking a sip of it.

“Well, c’mon. Have a taste,” Louis pressed. She looked back up at Louis and down at the cup again, hearing Eleanor let out a laugh.

Finally she took a sip and immediately choked on the bitter taste of the alcohol.

“Good, innit?” Louis laughed, looking over at her.

“I’m sorry,” Eleanor chuckled, apologizing for her boyfriend.

“Tastes like rubbing alcohol,” Maya hissed, trying to recover from the foul aftertaste.

“Might be. I dunno. Somebody made it for me,” Louis laughed with a shrug. Eleanor let out a scoff, swatting at him again.

“You don’t even know what you’re drinking and you’re offering up your cup?” Eleanor scolded him playfully.

“It’s a party! We’re drinking. We’re having fun. C’mon, Maya. Let’s get you something you actually like to drink,” Louis told her as they moved toward the kitchen counter that was filled with endless amounts of different kinds of alcohol.

Maya took a few shots with Louis and Eleanor before Eleanor was nice enough to mix her an appropriate drink. When she looked around the kitchen, she noticed Harry wasn’t in there anymore and she felt her stomach sink. But a moment later, he turned the corner back into the room and his eyes connected with hers again.

“Hi,” Harry greeted her simply. And it almost felt like the entire world around them fell away and it was just the two of them.

“Hi,” Maya said breathlessly, unable to break her eyes away from his.

“I’m glad you came,” he told her, letting his lips turn up into a smile.

“Yeah, uh. I, uh, Camille… she… yeah,” Maya stammered, unsure of what she really wanted to say.

Maybe that Camille forced her to come, but she knew she wasn’t forced. She knew she wanted, almost needed, to see Harry. It was becoming a tradition – them being together on New Year’s Eve. This would be their third year.

Harry sent her an odd look before letting out a small chuckle.

“Sorry. I’m a bit flustered. Louis made me drink this, uh, drink he had and I, um… I think maybe it was spiked with something… I dunno. I feel a bit off,” Maya said with an embarrassed chuckle, swiping her hand through the air.

Harry’s brows marred together in concern.

“Oh, I-I… I’m fine. I just feel a bit fuzzy,” Maya told him.

“Well, you look beautiful,” he said, his deep voice sending goosebumps across her skin. She could almost swear his voice would be enough to get her off – it was _that_ attractive.

“Thank you. You look quite handsome,” she said, turning up her lips into a timid smile.

“Thank you,” he said, smiling from ear-to-ear at her. Silence engulfed them for a moment as they smiled at one another.

“Oh! The earrings. You’re wearing them,” Harry pointed out excitedly, reaching out to touch one of them.

The feel of his fingertips against her earlobe sent a spark of energy right down to her sex. She bit at her lip, trying to stifle the feeling and regain some kind of composure.

“They look amazing. I knew they would,” Harry told her.

“Thank you,” Maya squeaked, biting her lip again. She was slowly beginning to realize that being in his ethereal presence without completely going feral with want was going to drive her absolutely mad. So she made an excuse.

“I should, uh… I should find Camille,” Maya said, pointing her thumb behind her, even though she was nearly backed up against the kitchen cupboards.

“Uh, okay…” Harry said, looking more than a little disappointed that she was trying to get away from him.

“I’ll, uh… see you,” Maya said as she slipped around him, leaving him in her wake. 

Maya spent the better part of an hour with Camille and Jeremy as she showed off her engagement ring and talked about their upcoming nuptials with other guests at the party. It was enough to utterly depress Maya. She was completely happy for her best friend, there was no doubt about it. But she was beginning to realize she wasted the past two years hung up on an emotionally unavailable guy that she had no chance of ever taming.

Two years had passed and she had nothing to show for it. Two years to the day, Harry kissed her at midnight and then they spent countless nights fucking each other, but she had absolutely nothing in the end. Harry still wasn’t hers and she couldn’t even tell him how she felt. She was a coward.

When she saw Harry from afar laughing with a group of girls, one of them placing her hand on his forearm as they spoke, Maya’s gut turned violently. It was too much. It was way too hard to see him with other girls. And at that moment she knew she didn’t want to be there for midnight this time, because she didn’t want Harry to kiss her and make her fall even more in love with him. So instead, she grabbed her coat from the closet and disappeared out the door, calling for a taxi as she did.

“Maya!” She heard Harry call after her from the doorway, catching her before she made a swift getaway.

“ _Shit_ ,” Maya grumbled under her breath.

“Maya, where are you going?” Harry asked as he jogged toward her.

“I’ve gotta… I’ve gotta go,” Maya said, her speech slurring just slightly.

“It’s not even midnight yet,” he pointed out and Maya let out a snort. Of course he’d be worried about midnight.

“Maya, what’s going on?” Harry asked as he grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him.

“I’m leaving,” Maya told him as she tried to hold back her tears.

From inside the house they could hear the crowd begin the countdown and Maya’s chest tightened. She wasn’t sly enough to make a clean getaway. She was certain that Harry would torture her by being her kiss at midnight for the third year in a row.

“Maya…” Harry breathed, looking in her eyes.

“Harry…” She said, shaking her head.

“3, 2, 1…” he breathed quietly and she felt the prickling of tears.

“Happy New Year, Maya,” Harry breathed against her lips before he pressed them firmly together.

He kissed her with a fierceness that she never felt before. His eagerness only fueled her attraction for him and soon she was kissing him back with just as much passion. She knew she would get lost in him if she wasn’t careful, so she pulled away from him just as fast as the kiss started. Her hand came up to her battered lips and she took a much needed breath.

“Maya?” Harry asked, furrowing his brow in question.

Without a word, Maya spun on her heels and continued walking down the front path.

“Maya!” Harry called after her.

“Just leave me alone, Harry,” she told him.

“Maya, what’s going on?” He asked as he followed her.

“I can’t do this anymore, Harry,” Maya said finally.

“Can’t do what?” He asked, grabbing her arm again.

“You. Us. I can’t do it,” she told him, tears pooling in her eyes.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, looking overtly concerned.

“It’s not healthy. It makes me hate myself and I don’t want to hate myself. I want… I want…” Maya stammered, but couldn’t finish her thought.

“I don’t understand, Maya. What is going on? What do you want?” He asked incredulously.

Maya shook her head and bit her lip. She had no idea how to tell him what she wanted. She was too afraid of how he’d react.

“What do you want?” He asked again, a bit more aggressively. Tears streaked down Maya’s cheeks.

“Maya, what do you want!?” He growled, aggravating her even more.

“YOU! I want you!” She shouted back at him. Harry looked taken aback for a moment because of her outburst, which only fueled her insecurity.

“ _God,_ ” Maya choked out, spinning on her heels to get away from him.

“Maya!” Harry yelped, grabbing her arm again.

“Calm down and talk to me,” Harry told her firmly.

“I just… I want you, Harry,” she said a little more calmly, unable to look him in the eye.

“Maya…” he breathed.

“I’m sorry… I should go,” she told him, her eyes pooling with tears.

“Maya, please don’t,” Harry whispered, holding her in place.

“Harry, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t…” She told him as tears streaked down her cheeks as she looked up at him.

“You can’t do what?” He asked, furrowing his brow.

“I can’t continue sleeping with you and then watch you flirt with other girls. I can’t do it. It hurts too much,” she admitted.

“Maya,” Harry said, looking almost embarrassed.

“I-I can’t…” Maya breathed helplessly.

“So you… you want…” He stammered. Maya let out another sigh. Of course he didn’t get it.

“Harry, I’m in love with you!” She said finally, getting frustrated with him, wishing he just knew everything she felt without her having to say it.

Harry let out a big breath and ran his fingers through his wild hair.

“You don’t have to say anything. I get it, okay. I just… I just wanted you to know you can’t come over at midnight anymore. I won’t open the door,” she told him finally, turning to leave again.

“Maya! Wait,” he said, taking a few more steps toward her. She turned to look at him.

“Okay,” he said, looking in her eyes.

“Okay, what?” She asked, looking at him oddly.

“I can be your boyfriend,” he told her. She felt their air in her lungs completely expel from her body with his words.

“I didn’t _ask_ you,” she said, feeling almost offended. She wasn’t a charity case. She didn’t need his pity.

“You don’t want…” he started to say, furrowing his brows.

“I don’t want you to do something _you_ don’t want to do,” she snapped.

“I know I don’t want to stop seeing you. I know I like to spend time with you. I know that much,” he told her.

“I don’t think that’s enough for me,” Maya said, shaking her head.

“Look, Maya. I’ve never been in love. I don’t think I even know what it is. But I know the way you make me feel is different than I’ve felt for any person before. I know I liked falling asleep next to you and waking up with you in my arms. I know I’d be absolutely gutted if this were to end between us,” he explained, which only made Maya cry harder.

“Harry…” she breathed as tears streaked down her cheeks. He took another step toward her, gripping the sides of her face with his hands.

“I know you’re the only girl that’s mattered to me in two years,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. She whimpered as emotion hit her hard.

“I want you. I’ve wanted you for as long as I’ve known you,” Harry told her. She couldn’t speak because of the lump in her throat.

“So if you want, I would like to have the privilege of being your _beau_ ,” Harry told her with a sideways smirk. It made her laugh through the tears and she was left nodding her head ‘yes’.

“Yes?” He asked, smiling widely at her.

“Yes,” she said and he leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth.

As he finally pulled away from their kiss, Maya haphazardly wiped at the tears streaming down her face. She probably looked a fright, making sure to wipe carefully under her eyes to clean up any makeup residue.

“C’mon,” Harry said, grabbing her hand, pulling her toward the awaiting cab.

When he slipped into the cab after helping her inside, Maya couldn’t help but smile. It was a short ride back to her place, but the anticipation was wreaking havoc on her. Harry was next to her, as her boyfriend, going back to her place, as her boyfriend, about to spend the night with her, as her boyfriend. She almost felt like she was in a dream.

As they made it inside of her flat together, Harry immediately wrapped her in his arms and kissed her how a man should kiss a woman whom he fancied. It was an amazing kiss and Maya’s stomach tied in knots over the fact that this experience with him was different than all the rest. Harry knew how she felt about him and she knew how he felt too, and it was almost liberating. She no longer had the weight of the unknown, of what could have been, on her shoulders. The future was theirs and the future was now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **THE END**


End file.
